Masahiko Uotani is President and Group Chief Executive Officer of Shiseido, a Japan-based beauty company founded in 1872. Mr. Uotani’s mission is to rejuvenate Shiseido to become a major global player in the industry, building on the Japanese heritage it has embraced for many years. Shiseido currently employs 50,000 people and has revenues of $8 billion from multiple prestige brands including Shiseido, Clé de Peau Beauté, NARS, bareMinerals, and Issey Miyake fragrance.

Mr. Uotani joined Shiseido in 2014 after more than 30 years in marketing and management at both Japanese and global fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies. Among his various posts, he was Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Executive Officer at Coca-Cola in Japan.
Mr. Uotani is the first Shiseido president to be appointed from outside of the company in its more than 140-year history. This reflects the board’s determination to evolve the company from its Japanese roots to being a leading global business. Mr. Uotani is expected to bring fresh insights by leveraging his global and Japanese business experience, which he refers to as a “hybrid model.”

He earned a bachelor’s degree from Doshisha University, a sister school of Amherst College, and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.